The Tesla Wireless Charging Dock is well-made and expensive

It kind of makes sense for Tesla to make wireless chargers. After all, when you think of the company, you think of electric cars and their superchargers (at least, after you get the image of Elon Musk out of your mind). But wireless charging is a slightly different beast that requires an understanding of magnetic fields and expertise in energy transmission technologies. That’s where Freepower, formerly known as Aira, comes in. Founder Jake Slatnick started the company in 2017 and tells Engadget that it has spent the past five and a half years developing “a more advanced form of Qi,” the industry-wide standard for wireless charging.

As a “technology supplier” according to Slatnick, Freepower doesn’t usually make products for consumers, besides Bedouin goods. When the Pro model launched in 2019, it was considered an attractive alternative to Apple’s canceled AirPower charging dock. Both promise to power up to three devices without having to carefully align them with the charging coils. But the Base Station series is no longer supported and has compatibility issues affecting charging speeds.

In December last year, Tesla and Freepower announced Wireless charging platform, and may be the spiritual successor to the Base Station Pro. Like many of the automaker’s other products, it’s almost as expensive. At $300, Tesla’s offering is twice the cost of the most expensive item. However, die-hard fans might not mind the premium, and there are some unique characteristics here that could explain Delta (though I insist there’s still plenty of justification).

For the money, you at least get what feels like a solid, premium product. The cargo platform is a solid, dense block about 220 mm (8.66 in) wide and weighs 747 grams (1.64 lb). Together with the magnetic stand that props it up at an angle, the whole thing comes in at 1.02kg (2.26lbs), which is pretty hefty. It’s not like you’d carry it around in your backpack, so it’s not a huge deal, but it’s worth mentioning in case you’re hoping to take it on your next trip.

Aside from that minor note, there isn’t much to complain about. The Alcantara fabric on the surface provides a grippy texture for my slippery phones, and the power cable is 60 inches long, so it easily runs to my side table from the nearest outlet. The cord also rolls neatly into the small hole so cable management fans will rejoice. The included 65W dock and charger feature an angular design reminiscent of a Cybertruck charger, in a matte black finish. It’s not much to look at, until you take a closer look and start to notice the little aesthetic touches.

While Tesla was responsible for the appearance of the charging stand, Freepower handled the technology. With 30 built-in coils below the surface, with the loops nesting into each other in layers, you should not only be able to charge up to 3 devices simultaneously, but also not matter where you put them. This is the idea of ​​”spatial freedom” mentioned by Slatnick, where, unlike Magsafe or other Qi products, you don’t have to align your phone with the rings on the charger to create a connection.

I enjoyed being able to randomly throw in my iPhone 14 Pro and not worry about lining up the circles or waiting for magnets to hold it in place. It was also nice that when I turned the iPhone slightly to make room for the Pixel 6 Pro, the charge didn’t drop.

One small thing I noticed was a slight delay of a few seconds from the time I placed my phone on the surface until the charging indicator appeared on the screen. This is a little slower than other Qi chargers I’ve tested, but it’s not a huge concern. Actual charging speed is comparable to Magsafe and other Qi devices that support 15W rates. My iPhone 14 Pro got from 57 percent to 65 percent in 22 minutes, which is in line with my experience with an old Belkin wireless charger.

The only thing that was different was how warm my phone was after sitting on the stand for about half an hour. Charging in general, and wireless charging in particular, can cause the device to heat up, but this one feels warmer than usual. It wasn’t enough to alarm me or burn me, but I also never left my devices on this one for longer than an hour, so I’m not sure how it would turn out if left overnight. This larger-than-normal heat output indicates that there may be some energy wasted in the process. We asked Freepower to explain the efficiency of their technology and will update when we get an answer.

It should be noted that the problem often cited as the reason behind this was that it was running “too hot” due to its multi-coil design. Slatnick told Engadget that although its technology is “functionally equivalent to AirPower,” it has a team of expert engineers who have solved several challenges in the multi-coil design. This includes figuring out how to deliver power to multiple devices at once, figuring out where each receiver’s coils are, what varying charge levels they might be, and how to do it all without using too much power.

I’m not about to drop $300 for a Tesla-branded wireless charging station, even if it’s very stylish and technologically impressive. Putting aside my concern about how hot my phone gets, I’m not the type to shell out $300 for something I don’t actually need. but me I be interested in what . Slatnick wants to continue working with other automakers or furniture companies to figure out how to embed multi-device wireless charging technology into all the surfaces that surround us. Maybe one day we’ll see kitchen counters or backseat pockets in cars that can charge devices we’ve come to rely on so much. Let’s hope we get there without too many phones exploding or electrical fires in the process.